Jack's so humble that he doesnt even have a bio of his life on his own website. Because of that, Im going to try and recollect everything I've read about him and sum it all up for you here.
Jack was born in 1975 near Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu. Son to a famous surfer throughout the islands, Jeff Johnson, Jack became an avid surfer himself. He started at such a young age (4 years old) that by the time he was able to professionally compete, he was amazing. Gaining sponsors from all around, Jack became pro. At age 17, he suffered an unfortunate blow during the Pipeline Masters. After escaping near death from drowning after crashing into the reef, he was hospitalized for fractured bones all over including his head.
As horrible as this accident was, he may not be where he is if that had not happened. True, he may have been a renowned surfer, but it wasnt until he was stuck in a hospital and forced to just stay put when he started playing guitar. Before the accident, he'd only play when he wasnt at school or surfing. Now confined to a bed, guitar became his release. Needless to say, those hours of playing paid off incredibly. The absolute skill and beauty in his sound is impossible to pass over.
Leaving Hawaii after high school, Jack attended the University of California-Santa Barbara. "Soil", I believe, was the name of the band Jack joined while in SB. Nearly the complete opposite of Jack's sound now, "Soil" was much more punk-oriented. While trying to balance school and the obligations of his band, Jack met Kim.
"As I was eatin' lunch at the DLG, this little girl came and she sat next to me, never seen nobody move the way she did, and she did and she does and she'll do it again," Jack sings of the story of their love in "Bubble Toes," #6 on BF. Common SB terms are heard thoughout the song: DLG, being De La Guerra (the cafeteria at UCSB) and tar balls (due to the traces of tar found in the ocean around SB, people often find little pieces of tar all over their feet after walking around the beaches). After finding his love, Jack found another love in filming. Switching majors halfway through, Jack ended up majoring in Film (with the initial intent to major in math). "Thicker than Water" and "September Sessions" aesthetically display the insane talent Jack has in filming. If you have not had the opportunity to watch his films, get off this website now and go find them. They're amazing.
Like so many other things in his life that have led up to where he is now, so did his films. While on these trips to Indonesia and the like, guitars and voices would relish in each other over beach campfires. Even after serious urges by so many people, Jack was too humble to take his music seriously.
JP Plunier, producer for Ben Harper and fellow surfer/friend of Jack's, became aware of his talent and set to get him out. Another friend of Jack's, Garret Dutton, lead singer for G.Love and the Special Sauce, asked Jack to come in the studio and sing a demo with him. Finally obliging, Jack and Dutton recorded "Rodeo Clowns," thinking just to record a tune, "just to goof around". "The next thing you knew it was a week later and he called me and told me it was going to be on the record. And a week after that he called me and told me it was going to be the single off the record."
And that's where it all began. Jack's talent was inpassable. Finally agreeing to record an album, Jack settled for a low-key label, Enjoy Records, despite the huge offers from major record labels (including Universal). Still so unaware of his crazy musical genuis, he released his record expecting low sales...and he was fine with that! To his but no one else's surprise, the album blew up. Thinking the album would sell about 5,000 copies in all, Brushfire Fairytales is racking up sales of 20,000 A WEEK (correct me if I'm wrong). Today, Jack is touring around the country and Australia to sold out audiences. Every show still amazes him and the band, still too humble to see their insane success and absolute fame.
It is this humility that makes them so much more amazing. Every performance is amazing and flawless. Their gratefulness is unmistakable. For anyone who has ever seen Jack in concert, they know just what I'm talking about. It's so refreshing to see such an amazing performer still remain so real. It is this very reason why Jack, Merlo (bassist), and Adam Topol (drummer) deserve all the fame in the world. At the same time, they probably wouldnt want that. I think I speak for so many other fans when I say that we dont want that to happen either. Of course, we want them to get all the success in the world, but Jack's something special that not just anyone can experience. You have to be deserving and appreciative; admire rather than simply hear. His music is not MTV music - it's not poppy or written for the favor of the masses. He writes with absolute heart and from the deepest parts of his soul. For those that cant truly hear that do not deserve to listen to his aesthetic splendor.
Learn to hear it...No one deserves to be deprived of the absolute beauty of his music.
